Alfred A. McKethan Stadium History
The University of Florida is home to one of the top college baseball facilities in the nation - Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field. The friendly confines of McKethan Stadium have been an important ingredient to the success of Gator baseball for over two decades. Since its opening in 1988, the Orange and Blue has been one of the toughest teams in the nation to defeat at home in posting a 779-266 (.745) record during the span.
Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan boasts a 231-69 (.770) record at McKethan Stadium in his eight-year tenure and Florida is an eye-popping 56-13 (.812) in three-game series on his watch. The Gators put together a school-record 24-game home winning streak between April 24, 2010-March 8, 2011, and have swept five Regionals and claimed four Super Regionals held on their own turf under O'Sullivan.
Over the past decade, over one million fans have enjoyed watching the Gators take the field against elite programs from across the nation each season. In fact, McKethan Stadium at Perry Field was ranked among the top collegiate baseball stadiums in the nation according to Baseball Americain its January 1998 issue.UF's home field was listed No. 7 and was ranked as the best stadium and field in the Sunshine State.
Florida's success on the diamond has led to unparalleled accomplishments for the school at the gates over the past decade, recording the top-10 single-game crowds and the five biggest three-game series totals. During that time frame, UF has drawn 38 crowds in excess of 5,000 fans and established a single-game record with 6,108 fans for the final game of the series against LSU on April 7, 2012. In 2011, the Gators established a school record for total attendance (153,904) and their season average of 3,935 fans in 2012 was the highest in school history.
McKethan Stadium boasts a capacity of 5,500, including 5,100 grandstand seats and 400 bleacher seats extending down the outfield lines in left field. In 1998, when the squad reached the College World Series for the fourth time, the Gators' success helped Florida attract over 105,262 fans that season, setting then-school records for total attendance and per game average (2,631 fans).
As a result of its top attendance marks, Florida has been selected to host an NCAA Regional, one of the true tests for a collegiate baseball facility, 13 times. UF played host to Regional action in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, and also hosted the 1989 Southeastern Conference Tournament, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 NCAA Super Regionals at the venue. The Gators have certainly benefited from their home crowd, having advanced to the CWS from Gainesville on eight occasions: 1991, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.
In addition to the entertaining brand of college baseball, fans enjoy spacious seating close to the field in the beautiful Florida sun. They are treated to theatre-like field-level seating, quality concession areas, an outstanding scoreboard featuring up-to-date player statistics, clean restrooms and abundant parking, along with a first-class press box for media covering the Gator program.
Always looking to improve its facilities, McKethan Stadium underwent a $350,000 plaza development project in 1996 that produced a new main entrance and created a plaza/courtyard atmosphere for fans surrounding the main grandstand. Construction over the previous summer had added 1,000 seats to the main grandstand to replace seating lost through prior construction and press box expansion.
The press box was rebuilt during the fall of 1996 with the aid of an additional gift of $300,000 from Mr. McKethan. The actual playing field, one of the best in the SEC, underwent an upgrade during the summer of 1997, with the field leveled and new grass planted. Capacity was also increased to 5,000 at that time, with seats added along the left-field line and beyond the left-field fence. During the 2003 off-season, a brand-new Gator skin outfield fence and a padded backstop were attached. The infield and pitching mound were also graded and leveled and more outfield drainage was added. Lights were first installed at the stadium in 1977 thanks to a generous contribution from New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a Bull Gator booster.
McKethan Stadium is complemented by the $5-million-dollar Lemerand Athletic Center located on Stadium Road cornering up to James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track and McKethan Stadium at Perry Field. It is a multi-story 46,000-square-foot building that provides locker rooms, equipment storage, training and sports medicine, along with coaches' offices for the Gator softball, track & field and volleyball programs.
A $13-million dollar expansion to McKethan Stadium and the Lemerand Athletic Center that was completed in September of 2006 enhances Florida's complex even more. The construction project resulted in additional stadium seating and a baseball-specific building that includes a training facility, video room, offices and locker rooms, as well as a new bullpen/batting cage building with concessions and an upper deck overlooking the playing field. A high-resolution Daktronics video board was introduced beyond the right-field fence during the 2012 campaign that provides fans with even more statistical information about the game and spotlights other Gator events on campus.
The Don and Irene Dizney Plaza overlooks left field and is a spectacular vantage point for all of the action. Other major donors for the project included Gary and Nancy Condron, Rob Gidel, Tommy Oakley, the late George Sanders and W. Kelly Smith.
